Words by Webb

What has always annoyed me are the pink tools. You’ve probably seen them in catalogs—an adorable little tool kit with screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, level and measuring tape all in bright pink. I don’t know about all you ladies out there but I would feel embarrassed to use those tools.

What is the thinking behind these tools? Pink makes the job more fun? Women feel more confident when surrounded by something familiar(pink)? Women think normal tools are ugly?

Anyway, they’ve always made me crazy and apparently I’m not the only one. Allegra Bennett has written a book about women frequently found with axes, floor sanders, blueprints, and electric drills—and none of them are pink!

If you–or someone in your life–is a DIY-er, leave a comment for a chance to win Allegra Bennett’s When a Woman Takes an Axe to a Wall(Where is She Really Trying to Go?).

When a Women Takes an Axe to a Wall(Where is She Really Trying to Go?)

Author: Allegra Bennett

Paperback: 144 pages(also available with DVD)

Publisher: The Writer’s Lair Books (May 13, 2006)

Synposis:

Allegra Bennett tells the stories of dozens of women in When a Woman Takes an Axe to a Wall through one common scope: their homes. The homes they lived in, the homes they built, the homes they bought, the homes they renovated, the homes they lost. Using that one common thing to bind them together Allegra manages to include a wide variety of women. Homeowners who are struggling and those who are wealthy. Women who drag out an axe and tear down walls themselves and women hiring contractors. Women who are interior designers and women who oversee construction sites. Each telling how a home changed their life.

Review:

This was not the book I expected. From the title I was expecting a series of chapters about women’s renovation projects—sort of The Home and Garden Channel comes to a bookstore near you book. There were a few chapter like that but Allegra’s book covered much more than “how to fix a house”. Instead it covered what fixing(or buying or building)a house meant to these women. It made me think about my own house and how I felt about it.

This surprising book was a fast moving roller coaster with two dozen tales from a variety of women. It takes you from laughing to crying to shouting “I am woman, hear me roar.” It would be a fun and unique housewarming gift. With the exception of the chapter that trashed male contractors(my husband happens to be a male contractor)I truly enjoyed the book.

Question: Do you own tools? Have you ever done a home renovation or repair?

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the giveaway of When a Woman Takes an Axe to a Wall(Where is She Really Trying to Go?) between today and Tues., June 15 at midnight(EST). And tell your friends to stop by and enter!

I’ve never been in a book club. But when my older daughter started wanting to read the mysteries from the adult floor of our library in fourth or fifth grade we started a club of sorts. She would check out books. I would read them wildly, sometimes all in one night searching for gratuitous sex and/or violence(she was ten), then turn the mom-approved books over to her. Suppertime conversations would often include a “Did you get to the part where…?” We moved on to reading Harry Potter aloud as well as many other books that one of us would give to the other with a recommendation. Sometimes we both liked them, sometimes not. But it often gave us something to talk about at a time when daughters just aren’t interested in talking to moms. She’s in college but we still occasionally pass books back and forth. And now my younger daughter has gotten in on the act. But it’s a whole different story. Instead of mysteries and fantasy, I’m reading non-fiction books about Eygpt and other ancient cultures. I wish I had started a decade earlier with them. If only someone had told me about mother-daughter book clubs. I’m out of daughters but am considering starting a book club with my young son in a few years.

If you think you might enjoy reading with your daughters, leave a comment by midnight EST on Wednesday, May 19 for a chance to win Cindy Hudson’s Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs. Check back on Friday, May 21 to see if you’re the winner!

Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

Author: Cindy Hudson

Paperback: 312 pages(also available as Kindle)

Publisher: Seal Press (September 22, 2009)

Synposis:

Mothers and daughters share a special bond. . . why not further this bond through reading together? Book clubs have been growing in popularity over the past ten years, started by a variety of people with various interests and goals. Mother-daughter book clubs offer a great way for families to grow and share — with each other and with other mother-daughter pairs. In Book by Book Cindy Hudson offers all the how-to tips mothers need to start their own successful book clubs. Hudson offers her own firsthand experience as the founder of two long-running successful mother-daughter book clubs.

Hudson offers suggestions on books topics, club guidelines, and how to keep the club going as daughters grow older. How big should the club be? Whom should we invite? How often should we meet? How do we make sure we actually read the books? Hudson has all the answers. With recommended book lists (divided by four age groups), online resources, and suggested recipes for book-club treats, Book by Book is a great resource for helping moms and daughters form new memories and traditions.

Review:

Have you ever heard any idea that in theory sounds great…but in reality you have no idea how to pull it off? So many things fall into this category for me—including a mother-daughter book club. Hudson’s book covers everything I could think of from club size to club selections to extra activities to the problems that inevitably crop up with any group. What I like most about Hudson’s book, aside from the step by step instructions, is the openness of her plans. There is no “this is the right way to do it” directive. Instead Hudson allows readers to design their own group telling readers the advantages and disadvantages of each decision.

Hudson gives you everything you need to start your book club. In addition to suggestions about forming a group, there are book suggestions, discussion questions, favorite recipes for book club meetings. Throughout the book there are also quotes and stories from moms and daughters in book clubs together telling about their experiences. I can’t see how anyone can read this book and not want to at least give book clubbing with their daughtera try

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the giveaway of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs. And tell your friends to stop by and enter!

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